J0nny Ling0

AND, I am not defending the man. But since I was there, and since this "issue of brandishing a pistolo" has come up, and no one here actually saw it, I wonder about the claim, that's all. I DO know that CG was very severe, accused many of the clergy of being posessed, and I was seriously disappointed in the fact that he taught one night, then flew back to Scotland the next night, leaving us with a tape of his "thoughts on the matter". I think that the implied emphasis was that we were to "go to God on the matter, get actual revelation on the situation, and figure out what God really wanted each of us to do as a gift minister". And if we were unable to do this, then, so be it. Drift off into oblivion... And, here I am, in the Wilds Of Alaska, with my beautiful wife and precious children, waiting for Old Gabriel to blow that horn! :)

Like I said WW, I was there. I never saw him do what you have said he did. Were you there and saw this? Just wondering. I do believe that if he did this, that it would be considered brandishing. I know he had a nice .357 magnum. We shot some goats with it at Gunnison one time...

Ya know, I was there. I do not remember Chris Geer "brandishing" a firearm at all. Where did this info come from? I was sitting toward the back, and was very attentive, but I do not remember him brandishing a firearm at all. But maybe I was blinded by spirits? Were you there too Word Wolf?

Z-Shot said: Totally! Paper trail, paper trail, paper trail! Get all of your fellow disgruntled workers on board with this. At the very least, you can get the little miscreant out of your hair! And even if you believe it is a "machismo" latino trait, make sure you leave that sentiment out of it completely. For if you don't it will backfire in your face, it'll get twisted around and you will be the one guilty of racism, which we all know you are not...

Way ta go Kall Malone!

Thanks Belle, and, I truly hope that your love life now is a joy and a pleasure to you. Best wishes!

I don't smoke...And, I'm not really buyin it...

Nice DMiller. Glad it went so well, and what a beautiful little chapel! And thanks CoolChef! to you too! Yeah, that was such a funny thing. That gal still lives here in Juneau. She is the "Queen Bartenderess" at the Triangle Bar in beautiful downtown Juneau. She has gotten tough and is sort of a hard ...., and is known for being "no-nonsense" and all of that. I went in and said hi to her once when I finally recognized she was her, but she didn't seem to remember much. I think that "the drink" has been hard on her since she has obviously been hard on the drink...

We just got through a one month cold snap with the temp three days ago at sixteen below. It is a little colder here where I live compared to downtown Juneau, because there is an enormouse glacier about two miles behind my house, which is for all practicle purposes, a humongous Ice Cube. And, we just got another 16 inches of the white stuff. Another couple of weeks though, and it will break, and out will come da bears!

Wow. Belle, and all of the rest of youz who were sooo micromanaged before and during your wedding. So sad fore shore. I don't think I could have handled it and would have told them to go and **** themselves. But, sometimes my temper gets the best of me. But I would have been sorely tempted to.... Guess I have lots to be thankful for..*hiccup!*

My wedding was fine and wonderful. The people who came were the people whom I met in Juneau when I came here to "start a twig" as my Corps graduation assigment was worded. The LC came down (still a wonderful friend-and out for as long as me) from Anchorage and it was a fine time. My wife and I were married six weeks after I met her at Corps week in 1983, and because it was such a short time from meeting her and the wedding, my folks didn't make it out from the East Coast, for, Juneau, Alaska, is a long way to come. But their blessings came with their hearts and love. Her Mom couldn't make it either, being in a nursing home and all... And so, we were married on the ninth floor of the Baranoff Hotel in a meeting room that was divided across the middle, with the wedding on one side, and the reception on the other. Just off from the "reception side" was a neat little honeymoon suite complete with living room, kitchen, and down the hallway, a bedroom and bathroom. The view overlooked the mountains, the sea, and downtown Juneau. My best man had a pint of Jack Daniels from which we sipped, and my clergy friend even had a swaller as well, just before we commenced. There was even this drunk chick that came and sat in attendance whom I had met who came to twig once. But she didn't want the fellowship or the Bible. She was a really "randy lassie" and had wanted nothing more than sex with me, and had been very open about it. But, I had declined, and as it turned out, I had been very very wise to have done so! It was really funny, because, when my best man and the clergy guy and I were riding up in the elevator, the elevator stopped at a floor on the way up to the ninth floor, and this girl steps into the elevator with a cocktail in her hand. And there I was with a nice charcoal gray Pierre Cardin suit on, with my two handsome friends, and she looks at me and says; "Jonny!" Look at you!" And then she hugs me. And I turn beet red. And then she asks; "And who are these two handsome men! You all look so great! What are you all doing all nice and dressed up?" As she takes a drink of her mai tai or whatever-it did have an umbrella in itwhich seemed to almost poke her in the eye-my LC clergy friend (Steve) looks at me as if to ask; "And so, what have you been doing down here in Juneau all last year?" But he had a curious smile, and so did my best man, as I murmured into his ear; "I'll tell ya later". And then with a mischievous smirk, Rev. Steve says to me; "And so, Jonny, are you going to answer her question and then introduce us"? Stumbling in my speech, but regaining my confidence, I took a breath and said; "Blue, Steve, this is Jules. Jules is also from Maryland, and we celebrated the victory of the Washington Redskins this year in Super Bowl 17 at the Red Dog Saloon and-Jules then interrupts with a slurred; "Go Redskins!"- and we have been friends ever since. Jules came to twig one time as a matter of fact", and, turning to Jules I said; "Jules, today, I am getting married!" And Jules squealed with delight, saying that she loved weddings. And right on cue, Steve, my LC says; "And you are invited Jules, if you'd like to come". And so she came. It was really funny, because she was dressed in some sort of an 1890's gold rush dance hall girl period costume with a long feather in her punk rock haircut that stuck up about ten inches. And, she was pretty drunk. And during the short and sweet ceremony, she kept burping and farting, but then re-composing herself with a smile each time. But each time she burped or shifted her derriere' to one side in order to let one fly, her pheasant feather would bob to and fro, and up and down, adding to the hilarium. The five teenage kids at the wedding couldn't control their giggles very well, and my bride and I were doing our best to check our laughter but were smirking at Steve, who was officiating and controlling his laughter with amazing self control. I think I was trying to get him to laugh, since he had invited her. And after Jules left when the champagne was gone, we all laughed uproariously over the incident as we imitated Jules's not so proper wedding ettiquette. Too funny man, too funny! My wife and I laugh about that one to this very day. NIce that our wedding was simple and not religious at all. Ya know, I had been to a number of Way weddings over the years, and never did I witness anything like what was described in some of the negative incidents as have been described above. I truly believe that TWI I-as many here have nick named it-was a much sweeter place to be, in contrast to what many later comers have experienced. And so, our wedding was sweet and simple, with only fourteen people, and after 23 years and four kids, we're still hitched for life! :) (and once again, living in Juneau)

That's it, I'm buyin it!

Hey there Chatty! Happy birthday! Huggs and kisses! Jonny

Cool! I learned that little "parable" back in the day when I was WOW in 76 from my then BC, a gal in the Sixth Corps, Nancy Jo. I used it all along the years when I would teach in twigs and stuff when teaching about the love of God. Haven't seen/heard it in years. Thanks Bow! :)

No Guiness for me, but I will have a black and tan!

Way cool Rhino....Fact is, he was number 31 in the Draft Lottery when he was nineteen. 1970 I think. We all freaked out, Mom, Dad, all of us. He went for his physical, to do his duty and go to Viet Nam, did the honorable thing (my Dad was proud-US Army 1940-1945) but then they spotted a tumor in his chest ex-ray. Turns out to be cancer. They cut it out, He lived until 2004. Lots of wonderful years. with a wife and two lovely daughters included. And so, there were many many years of life and love between he and our Fambly....It was good, and a wonderful extension, which I am sure he knew better than we did....But, I guess on this day, the 17th of March, it hurts a bit. Those kind of pains never change I 'spose... And so, that clergy meeting really sucked!

Well geez. Thank you all for your kind words about my Brother Miles. I try to be "practical" about it and think; "Well, I'll see him Later", but, it still doesn't lessen the pain. "Shelving it" helps, but then there are always those times when I want to share something with him about Alaska or something (he loved to hunt and fish-and I never got him up here), but, he just flat out "ain't there no more". Yeah, I know this is a de-rail, but my wife and I just came from a freebie St. Paddy's Day dinner at the local bar (corned beef and cabbage), and after a few beers, a couple a shots, and memories of St Paddy's Day with Miles, it's gotten me kinda down... Anyway, God bless all of every one of you, and if I have ever been an a$$ hole to any of you, I am sorry. I love all of youz... JL

"VC" stands for the Viet Cong, the communist unsurgents our troops were fighting in Viet Nam. Viet Cong, or, "Victor Charlies" were also simply known as "Charlie" after awhile. "Charlie's commin' through the wire!" And, Jonny's brother was my big brother Miles Ryan who passed away about two years ago. Today is his birthday, St. Paddy's Day. I mentioned that over on the St. Patrick's Day thread. So now, every St Paddy's Day has a new and far more melancholy meaning to it. Rhino must have seen it. Thanks Rhino, I sure loved that guy. Seven years my senior, but always looked after me when I was little, took me fishin, huntin, and all kinds of cool thuings when my Dad was too busy. Cool guy... but yeah. that meeting. Harsh...

I was there. For the one in November of 86. The poor guy that was told to believe for a bigger bladder had actually s h it his pants and was making his way to the hallway where the bathroom is in the BRC. Really nice guy too. It wasn't his bladder, I think the fear in the room got to him. Poor man. As he was being grilled as in; "Where are you going?! Oh the bathroom? You should believe for a bigger bladder", he didn't respond, but just scurried out. I learned later that his situation was not what CG assumed it was. I was invited to "The May Meetings" as a clergy guy through my LC, but he never bothered to pass on the invite on to me, so I missed out on that one. Probably just as well. So much fear in those meetings one could cut it with a knife. I have no doubt the May meetings were no different than the meetings in november of 86, as far as the fear goes... In the evenings after the meetings, my LC and I ( not the one who didn't invite me to the May Meetings, but a new one, for I had left Alaska) drank whiskey. Not too much, but enough. We were really bummed by so much of it all. I guess we thought the world was ending, that the ministry that we loved and thought of as Our Lives was crumbling before us with an "ominousness". Also, alot of our clergy bros were acting really weird, at least to us. During that time, another two LC's had swiped my LC's staff car (my LC and I drove together-most flew unless they were really close to HQ), and were running around with single good looking staff gals, partying and only God knows what else. It was weird. In the evenings, I think alot of clergy guys were in denial, and played pool in the Founders Hall and pretended like they were the characters in the movie The Color Of Money, which was playing during that time. As if nothing were really amiss. Weird. And yet, there were also a lot of serious get togethers by concerned men and women, wanting to "fix the problem". And so, although some acted in a "carnival atmosphere" manner, there were also just as many who were honestly interested in trying to fix whatever the hell was broken. But over all, one of my bros came up and coined Johnny Townshends onetime greeting to the Corps at Corps Week that previous August and said to me; "Welcome to the Twighlight Zone...." LCM got reproved by CG for making the joke that "if anyone didn't have a tie, they could just ask John Lynn, he probably has at least thirty ties..." And of course we laughed. but then actually, we all got reproved, along with LCM. Him for saying it, we for laughing. And then there was the "Infiltrator". One guy, a Corps bro of mine, had snuck into the meeting because even though he was not a clergy guy, he was a BC and felt that he had a right to be there. But he was thrown out with somewhat of a commotion, and then Craig announced that we had to be sharp because; "We've already had one "infiltration". Infiltration? Sounded like some sea-slug from Mars had oozed in through the ventilation duct or something. Something from the X-Files. Weird. I was really glad to get home to my wife and baby kids after that. One child (Keanu) ten months, and the other, Tialani, 2 y.o. Shortly after that, I announced to my LC, that since I was broke as a branch leader with no work and lots of ministry expences expected to be handled by me, that it was time for me to go. For; "If a man can't take care of his own household, how can he take care of the Church of God?" I felt like a failure, but I was just being honest about it. If I worked full time, I had no time. And a branch takes time. Others may have pulled it off, but in that oppressed economy, it was pretty tough. And so, he gave me leave, with his blessing and told me that he understood. I am thankful for his understanding heart. He was and is one of the Good Ones. And, I went back to the building trades, as well as being a merchant seaman again... Yeah, I guess those meetings were of a help to me. Helped me to begin my slow but final exodus from The Way... Sorry Rejoice, I don't agree with that statement. There were alot of leaders who really cared and loved the people whom they endeavored to minister to. My LC was one. I know that there were many who were definitely self serving. But many who were not, my LC being one of them...

I think that Val Domiro should play Socks.

"An old man came courtin' me Hey ding durumai, An old man came courtin', an me bein young! An old man came courtin' an said maid will ye marry me, but maids when yer young, never wed an old man! WHY? Cause he's got no ding durum fly-itter-I-yurumai, He's got no ding durum fly-itter-I-yay! He's lost his ding durum, can't please my "fullurum", so maids when yer young never wed an old man!" That's an old Irish tune that snuck it's way to Down Under in New Zealand. I learned it from a bunch of young Kiwi believers back when we were all a much happier Family in The Way.... Fun song. There are a whole bunch of other verses which tell the story of a maid who'd "wed an old man", but later "jumped into the arms of a handsome young man". And at the end are the words: "I grabbed his ding durum, he found my fullurum, So maids when you're young, never wed an old man! Kinda cute. I wonder what it is about the Irish that makes them so fun to be around? Their accent? Their neat ballads and ditties? No doubt alot of you folks know that "No nay never" song that gets sung in almost every Irish pub in the world? "And it's no, nay, never, (clap clap clap clap!) no nay never no more! Will I play the wild rover, No never, no more!" Lots of fun to sing that one with a bunch of people at an Irish pub. Maybe it's because they are just a bunch of fun loving folks, a rowdy lot... But on a sadder note, St. Paddy's Day is my big brother Miles Ryan's birthday, but he passed away just a couple of years back, so today is now also a melancholy day as well... :( But, he'd want me to be happy, so... :) Happy birthday big bro!

Why thank you all. Obviously that was a totally goofy story, and naturally, the real people in it loved it alot because I spoke of them in a bit more of a highlighted fashion of their true character. "Jane Wayne" for instance. Her real name is Jane Tomkins, but, she is from an old seafaring family, and always had a "tough gal" persona about her. And so, I satirized everybody, and it was good fun... And Dooj, Mrs Lingo knows the stories, and gets a kick out of them... And, after Googling the Gaboon Viper like you did Belle, I was wrong about Indonesia or South Africa. The Gaboon viper is an African snake..Hah! Well, maybe I can dig up another story to post here. None of the rest come close to being this goofy, except for one, when we all went to a strip club down in Portland. But I probably shouldn't post that one here, with all of the good Christian people around...

Hugs to you too Toppie, and I mean that. You are wonderful, and worth more than all the riches in the whole world. And our Big Bro Jesus Christ would have gone through all of that for you so you would not have had to go through what you went through. I love you Sistah, and I mean that...You are loved. Keep on keepin on. I am so proud of how tough you are, and how you have told the world that it can go **** itself and leave you alone. Yeah, you are a tough and sweet woman, and I am proud to be in touch with you, and happy to know that my prayers were answered when I prayed for you so long ago... I love you mucho en Christo mi hermana! Huggs again! JL

I was never a Zepplin fan. I got so tired of "Stairway", and "Blackdog", that I gave up. As the years went by, I liked that song Far And Away or whatever it is called. But to me, The Allman Brothers Band ruled! "Statesborough Blues, Whippin Post, Sweet Melissa, Southbound, Jessica, Pony Boy, Blue Skies, Ramblin Man, Dreams, Hot Lanta, In Memory Of Elizabeth Reid, etc... Saw 'em (Zepplin) at the Baltimore Civic Center, but it just did not trip my trigger. I hated that guy's voice when he sang the "Immigrant Song". Burned my sensibilities...Rather listen to an ensemble of "Pentalaika" instrumentalists... I wonder what those guys sound like, now that I am wonderin.....?

Shoot, Toppie, I wish you had graduated with us. And Toppie, because I know know your story, I wish I could have enveloped you in my arms ams, kissed you, and let you know that I'd have given my Life for you. I mean that, for you are my SISTAH. But whether or not you graduated with us or not, if I had been THERE, I'd have done it, for you... God Bless You.